Posted in: Lord of The Rings, Preview, streaming, TV | Tagged: amazon, lord of the rings, preview, prime video, rings of power, trailer

Lord of the Rings: Jeff Bezos Thanks TROP Showrunners for Ignoring Him

No pressure on Amazon's Prime Video and showrunners J.D. Payne & Patrick McKay's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, but when Amazon Founder & Executive Chairman Jeff Bezos shows up to your London global premiere? You can pretty much bet that there there are a lot of folks looking to see how well the streaming series does. But from the sounds of things, Bezos was anything but nervous (with early reviews hitting social media as this is being written, most looking pretty positive so far).

"Every showrunners' dream is to get notes on early scripts and cuts from the Executive Chairman, they just love that," Bezos joked while discussing Payne and McKay's early efforts. "I want to thank you both for listening whenever it helped, but mostly I need to thank you for ignoring me at exactly the right times." And Bezos didn't hold back on his support of the duo, adding that bringing Payne and McKay aboard, saying it was "one of the best decisions we made was to bet on this relatively unknown team because we saw something special." As for what sounds like the best advice Bezos could've received about the project, the executive also shared his son's advice: "My kid is a huge Tolkien fan, and after Amazon got involved, he came up to me, looked me in the eye and said 'Dad, please don't f*ck this up.'" With the epic series set to hit Amazon's Prime Video this week (see below for the full global rollout), here's a look at the official trailer for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power:

Amazon Studios' forthcoming series brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth's history. This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien's pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness.

Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.

Amazon announced that the first two episodes will premiere on September 1st and 2nd (depending on time zone), with the remainder of the season being rolled out weekly with a single episode. To give fans around the world a chance to experience the series together, the episode will launch globally at the same time. Now here's a look at how it's going to work:

Two-Episode Series Premiere Release Info: 6 p.m. PDT — Thursday, September 1; 9 p.m. EDT — Thursday, September 1; 10 p.m. Brazil — Thursday, September 1; 2 a.m. UK — Friday, September 2; 3 a.m. Central European Summer Time — Friday, September 2; 5:30 a.m. India Standard Time — Friday, September 2; 10 a.m. Japan Standard Time — Friday, September 2; 11 a.m. Australia — Friday, September 2; and 1 p.m. New Zealand — Friday, September 2.

Remaining Episodes Release Info: 9 p.m. PDT — Thursdays; 12 a.m. EDT — Fridays; 1 a.m. Brazil — Fridays; 5 a.m. UK — Fridays; 6 a.m. CEST — Fridays; 9:30 a.m. IST — Fridays; 1 p.m. JST — Fridays; 2 p.m. AU — Fridays; 4 p.m. NZ — Fridays.

"This is a title that we imagine could live on the spine of a book next to Tolkien's other classics. The Rings of Power unites all the major stories of Middle-earth's Second Age: the forging of the rings, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, the epic tale of Númenor, and the Last Alliance of Elves and Men," said Payne & McKay when the title of the highly-anticipated series was first announced. "Until now, audiences have only seen on-screen the story of the One Ring – but before there was one, there were many… and we're excited to share the epic story of them all."

The new stories will take place prior to J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Fellowship of the Ring" and look to focus on the "Second Age" – a time when the Rings of Power were first revealed. "J.R.R. Tolkien created one of the most extraordinary and inspiring stories of all time, and as a lifelong fan, it is an honor and a joy to join this amazing team. I can't wait to take audiences around the world to Middle-earth and have them discover the wonders of the Second Age, with a never-before-seen story," explained Bayona at the time the news was announced.

Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Nazanin Boniadi, Tom Budge, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers, Daniel Weyman, Maxim Baldry, Lenny Henry, Peter Mullan, Lloyd Owen, Augustus Prew, Peter Tait, Benjamin Walker, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Simon Merrells, Maxim Baldry, Ian Blackburn, Kip Chapman, Anthony Crum, Maxine Cunliffe, Trystan Gravelle, Thusitha Jayasundera, Fabian McCallum, Geoff Morrell, Alex Tarrant, Leon Wadham, Sara Zwangobani, Charles Edwards, Will Fletcher, Amelie Child-Villiers, Beau Cassidy, and Tyroe Muhafidin star.

Amazon's Lord of the Rings series' creative team line-up includes Amazon's ex-genre head Sharon Tal Yguado as well as Lindsey Weber (10 Cloverfield Lane), Bruce Richmond (Game of Thrones), Gene Kelly (Boardwalk Empire), Tal Yguado, writer/executive producer Gennifer Hutchison (Breaking Bad); writer/executive producer Jason Cahill (The Sopranos), writer/executive producer Justin Doble (Stranger Things), consulting producer Stephany Folsom, producer Ron Ames, writer, and co-producer Helen Shang, and writing consultant Glenise Mullins. Bayona will executive produce alongside partner Belén Atienza. Payne and McKay are developing the series and serving as showrunners, with Bryan Cogman (Game of Thrones) serving as a consultant. JA Bayona is set to direct the first two episodes. Amazon Studios produces, in conjunction with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins, and New Line Cinema. Academy Award-winning "The Lord of the Rings" film trilogy composer Howard Shore has composed the main title theme. In addition, Bear McCreary (Battlestar Galactica, The Walking Dead) has composed the series' full score.

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